Lesnes Estate Thamesmead protest over demolishment

People living in the Lesnes Estate in Thamesmead have been occupying an empty house in the estate since April 6 to oppose plans from Peabody to build 1,950 new homes.

Bexley Council gave outline planning permission to the housing association for the project in October 2022, with homes in the Lesnes Estate being knocked down to accommodate the new scheme.

The resident group have claimed that they will continue to stay in the house until a conversation is opened between them and the executive director of Peabody, John Lewis, to discuss refurbishing empty homes on the estate instead of demolishing them.

Dolorosa Buhari, 69, who has lived in a home she owns on the estate since 2003, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “It’s disheartening that we are all facing this at this time.

Dolorosa Buhari

"Most of us here are retired and we have worked our lives to pay and to say, ‘This is our home,’ and then Peabody come in to tell us we cannot leave here and they want to take our property, offering peanuts.

"The money they are offering cannot even get you a one bedroom flat anywhere in London… I don’t think even Peabody’s forklifts will lift me away from here.”

She added: “When we didn’t have Elizabeth line, everything here was dark. Nobody knew about it then. Now that the Elizabeth line is here, Peabody wants to make money out of it and think they should take us away. They are not going to.”

Maria Ivanova, 72, bought her home on the Lesnes Estate in 2007 to live with her son and said she often walks around the nearby lake and park with him. She claimed that she had experienced health problems due to the stress associated with being told to sell her home to Peabody and that property prices around Abbey Wood station had risen since the Elizabeth line opened in 2022.

She told the LDRS: “They are interested in the land to build this big block of flats but they are not interested in people who live here at the moment. This is not a charity organisation in my opinion if they don’t care about the people.”

She added: “When we found out that they would like to demolish our houses to have this new project, it was quite stressful because all my life I wanted to have my own house. In 2007, we managed to get this mortgage, which we finished this year.

"When they said that they’re going to demolish our houses and pay peanuts to us, it means that they will leave us homeless. I will not be able, at the age of 72, to be able to buy another house with the money that they suggest that we can have.”

Dr Johnnel Olabhie, 56, has lived in the estate for over 20 years after purchasing a house there.

He said a consultation on the project opened with residents in 2016, followed by caseworkers from Peabody telling homeowners on the estate they had no choice but to give up their property.

He added that tenants’ homes and communal areas of the estate have been in a state of managed decline ever since then by lighting and bins on the streets being removed.

He told the LDRS: “When the consultation came up, the booklet claimed they visited homes and they were all damp with fungi and unfit for living. We were surprised, they did it deliberately because when tenants ask them to come fix some issues or leakage, they don’t do it. They let it deliberately get dilapidated.”

Dr Olabhie said that people on the estate are not against the development, but feel that the solutions offered by Peabody to those who do not wish to leave their homes have not been sufficient.

He claimed homeowners were told in a meeting with the company in 2017 that if they did not sell their homes, they would be issued with a compulsory purchase order.

He said: “That really angered the residents. They don’t have a say here. It was so bullying… The way they are proceeding has made the residents feel that it’s just one way, meaning your thoughts or your feelings or requests have no impact at all.”

A Peabody spokesperson told the LDRS: “Redevelopment is the very best option for the estate. It will provide high quality, energy-efficient homes for local people, while helping to address the housing shortage.

"We consulted with tenants and resident homeowners about our plans over a four-year period and held a ballot in 2020, with the majority voting in favour.”

The ballot from 2020 stated that 70.2 per cent of residents on the Lesnes Estate wanted it to be included in the housing association’s wider plans for South Thamesmead, with 65.4 per cent of residents taking part in the ballot.

The spokesperson said Peabody will continue to carry out repairs and maintenance in people’s homes and that its environmental services team works on the estate daily alongside frequent waste enforcement officer visits.

They said: “We want to keep the community together. That’s why we’re offering all resident homeowners the opportunity to move to a brand new Peabody home in South Thamesmead through our shared equity offer. This means they can buy a home up to double the value of their current one, without having to take on an additional mortgage. All tenants who are paying social rent now will continue to pay social rent in their new home in South Thamesmead.”

They added: “All homes are valued by an independent chartered surveyor and many homeowners have accepted our offer of market value for their home plus a 10 per cent compensation payment.”